The World record progression 500 m speed skating men as recognised by the International Skating Union:
| Name | Result | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oscar Grundén | 50.8 | 28 February 1891 | Stockholm |
| Einar Halvorsen | 50.2 | 28 February 1892 | Hamar |
| Alfred Næss | 49.4 | 5 February 1893 | Hamar |
| Einar Halvorsen | 48.0 | 26 February 1893 | Hamar |
| Alfred Næss | 48.0 | 26 February 1893 | Hamar |
| Oskar Fredriksen | 47.8 | 21 January 1894 | Kristiania |
| Einar Halvorsen | 47.0 | 24 February 1894 | Hamar |
| Alfred Næss | 47.0 | 24 February 1894 | Hamar |
| Wilhelm Mauseth | 46.8 | 3 February 1895 | Trondhjem |
| Peder Østlund | 46.6 | 7 February 1897 | Trondhjem |
| Peder Østlund | 45.2 | 10 February 1900 | Davos |
| Rudolf Gundersen | 44.8 | 27 January 1906 | Davos |
| Johan Vikander | 44.4 | 9 February 1908 | Davos |
| Sigurd Mathisen | 44.4 | 9 February 1908 | Davos |
| Oscar Mathisen | 44.2 | 17 February 1912 | Kristiania |
| Oscar Mathisen | 44.0 | 16 March 1913 | Hamar |
| Oscar Mathisen | 43.7 | 10 January 1914 | Kristiania |
| Oscar Mathisen | 43.4 | 17 January 1914 | Davos |
| Roald Larsen | 43.1 | 4 February 1928 | Davos |
| Clas Thunberg | 42.8 | 19 January 1929 | Davos |
| Clas Thunberg | 42.6 | 13 January 1931 | St. Moritz |
| Hans Engnestangen | 42.5 | 21 January 1933 | Davos |
| Allan Potts | 42.4 | 18 January 1936 | Oslo |
| Hans Engnestangen | 42.3 | 30 January 1937 | Davos |
| Hans Engnestangen | 41.8 | 5 February 1938 | Davos |
| Yuri Sergeev | 41.7 | 6 January 1952 | Medeo |
| Yuri Sergeev | 41.2 | 19 January 1952 | Medeo |
| Yuri Sergeev | 40.9 | 25 January 1953 | Medeo |
| Yuri Sergeev | 40.8 | 19 January 1955 | Medeo |
| Yevgeny Grishin | 40.2 | 22 January 1956 | Misurina |
| Yevgeny Grishin | 40.2 | 28 January 1956 | Misurina |
| Yevgeny Grishin | 39.6 | 27 January 1963 | Medeo |
| Yevgeny Grishin | 39.5 | 28 January 1963 | Medeo |
| Erhard Keller | 39.2 | 28 January 1968 | Inzell |
| Keiichi Suzuki | 39.2 | 1 March 1969 | Inzell |
| Valery Muratov | 39.09 | 9 January 1970 | Medeo |
| Boris Gulyaev | 39.03 | 13 January 1970 | Medeo |
| Hasse Börjes | 38.9 | 18 January 1970 | Davos |
| Valery Muratov | 38.99 | 24 January 1970 | Medeo |
| Hasse Börjes | 38.87 | 25 January 1970 | Medeo |
| Valery Muratov | 38.73 | 29 January 1970 | Medeo |
| Keiichi Suzuki | 38.71 | 7 March 1970 | Inzell |
| Hasse Börjes | 38.46 | 8 March 1970 | Inzell |
| Erhard Keller | 38.42 | 14 March 1971 | Inzell |
| Erhard Keller | 38.3 | 2 January 1972 | Inzell |
| Leo Linkovesi | 38.0 | 8 January 1972 | Davos |
| Erhard Keller | 38.0 | 4 March 1972 | Inzell |
| Hasse Börjes | 38.0 | 4 March 1972 | Inzell |
| Lasse Efskind | 38.0 | 13 January 1973 | Davos |
| Yevgeny Kulikov | 37.99 | 15 March 1975 | Medeo |
| Yevgeny Kulikov | 37.97 | 16 March 1975 | Medeo |
| Valery Muratov | 37.85 | 18 March 1975 | Medeo |
| Yevgeny Kulikov | 37.20 | 28 March 1975 | Medeo |
| Yevgeny Kulikov | 37.00 | 29 March 1975 | Medeo |
| Yevgeny Kulikov | 36.91 | 28 March 1981 | Medeo |
| Pavel Pegov | 36.68 | 25 March 1983 | Medeo |
| Pavel Pegov | 36.57 | 26 March 1983 | Medeo |
| Nick Thometz | 36.55 | 19 March 1987 | Heerenveen |
| Uwe-Jens Mey | 36.45 | 14 February 1988 | Calgary |
| Uwe-Jens Mey | 36.43 | 19 January 1992 | Davos |
| Dan Jansen | 36.41 | 25 January 1992 | Davos |
| Dan Jansen | 36.41 | 19 March 1993 | Calgary |
| Dan Jansen | 36.02 | 20 March 1993 | Calgary |
| Dan Jansen | 35.92 | 4 December 1993 | Hamar |
| Dan Jansen | 35.76 | 30 January 1994 | Calgary |
| Hiroyasu Shimizu | 35.39 | 2 March 1996 | Calgary |
| Hiroyasu Shimizu | 35.36 | 28 March 1996 | Calgary |
| Hiroyasu Shimizu | 34.82 | 28 March 1998 | Calgary |
| Jeremy Wotherspoon | 34.76 | 20 February 1999 | Calgary |
| Jeremy Wotherspoon | 34.63 | 29 January 2000 | Calgary |
| Hiroyasu Shimizu | 34.32 | 10 March 2001 | Salt Lake City |
| Joji Kato | 34.30 | 19 November 2005 | Salt Lake City |
| Lee Kang-Seok | 34.25 | 9 March 2007 | Salt Lake City |
| Jeremy Wotherspoon | 34.03 | 9 November 2007 | Salt Lake City |
Note that the world record of 38.9 set by Hasse Börjes on 18 January 1970 had been manually timed and thus with a precision of only one tenth of a second. In those days, it was not yet required that a performance be automatically timed (with a precision of one hundredth of a second) in order for it to be recognised as a world record. When Valery Muratov skated 38.99 six days later, it was automatically timed and since – when disregarding the hundredths of a second – the result was the same as the time set by Börjes, it was recognised as a world record. Ironically, Muratov's world record would stand for only one day, because Börjes skated 38.87 the following day. But then Muratov skated a new world record of 38.73 four days after that.